In Situ Measurements of Hydrogen Peroxide, Nitric Acid and Reactive Nitrogen to Assess the Ozone Sensitivity in Pingtung County, Taiwan

Y.P.  Peng; K.S.  Chen; H.K.  Wang; C.H.  Lai

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2010.10.0091

In Situ Measurements of Hydrogen Peroxide, Nitric Acid and Reactive Nitrogen to Assess the Ozone Sensitivity in Pingtung County, Taiwan

Y.P. Peng¹^,2, K.S. Chen ², H.K. Wang², C.H. Lai³

¹Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, United States
²Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan, ROC
³Department of Health Safety and Environmental Engineering Central Taiwan, University of Science and Technology, Taichung 406, Taiwan, ROC

Received: October 26, 2010
Revised: December 7, 2010
Accepted: December 7, 2010
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2010.10.0091

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Cite this article:
Peng, Y., Chen, K., Wang, H. and Lai, C. (2011). In Situ Measurements of Hydrogen Peroxide, Nitric Acid and Reactive Nitrogen to Assess the Ozone Sensitivity in Pingtung County, Taiwan. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 11: 59-69. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2010.10.0091

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed to investigate the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), nitric acid (HNO₃) and reactive nitrogen (NO_y) at three sites in Southern Taiwan during 2003–2004. The mean H₂O₂ concentrations were 1.0–2.7 ppbv, 1.6–2.8 ppbv and 1.0–2.6 ppbv at Pingtung, Chao-Chou and Kenting, respectively. Meanwhile, the mean HNO₃ concentrations were 2.7–5.5 ppbv at Pingtung, 1.9–4.6 ppbv at Chao-Chou and 1.2–3.0 ppbv at Kenting. The NO_y mean concentrations were 61.0–85.0 ppbv, 16.0–75.0 ppbv and 4.2–12.0 ppbv at Pingtung, Chao-Chou and Kenting, respectively. The hourly data of H₂O₂, HNO₃, NO_y and O₃ were then used to determine the ratio of H₂O₂ to HNO₃, O₃ to HNO₃, O₃ to NO_y and the extent of reaction (E) in Smog Production Model (SPM) to evaluate the NO_x and VOC sensitivity of ozone formation in Southern Taiwan. The results show that Pingtung city was primarily VOC-sensitive regime in four seasons. At Chao-Chou, the percentages of VOC-sensitive regime exceed those in NO_x-sensitive regime in H₂O₂/HNO₃ and O₃/NO_y in four seasons; but O₃/HNO₃ indicates NO_x-sensitive regime in autumn, winter and spring. Kenting was mainly dominated by NO_x-sensitive by use of three indicators in four seasons. The SPM results are consistent with those determined by the photochemical indicator ratios although the percentages of dominance may vary among these analyses.